Creating Collective Memory

Movie Dick Book and Adaptations

Moby Dick is a tale that everyone knows about. This novel was written by Herman Melville and published in 1851. Although not based on 100% real-life events, Melville adapted his life into this book: he was raised during the time of American dominance of the whaling industry in the mid 19th century. Using his own experience as a whaler as well as George Pollard's, the former captain of the whaler Essex, Melville wrote this American masterpiece which would later be adapted into hundreds of different movies, shows, comics, children's books, and even theatrical plays.
Environmentally speaking, Melville is able to depict whaling as brutal and destructive, he highlights the environmental toll that whaling takes on the oceans as well as other creatures by showcasing the interconnectedness of species to their natural habitat, oceans.